Author:bluelollipoproad

July 31, 2010 In De-lish, Photos, Wisconsin

cheese head

Some long time friends of mine moved to Madison abut a year ago. A perfect stop on the way to Alaska to see their new home and catch up. Another friend from back in VA happened also to be visiting this weekend, and yet another in the group of our old pals is in town for work so it’s a big ol’ reunion of fun. We all went to The Old Fashioned in Capital Square for lunch yesterday. The place was packed and staff was friendly. This is where we ordered fried cheese curds for an app. (Yeah, I know. I have blown any kind of balance in my diet during my stay in Wisconsin. Talk about an all-out cheese fest. I’m glad I can still strap on my running shoes and pound the pavement from anywhere for free.) Here’s my sandwich:

Grilled cheese with cheddar, swiss, hickory smoked red peppers, cukes and tomatoes. This was one of the best fancy grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever had. The fresh local veggies stuffed in there put it in that category. It’s such a spoil to have fresh produce included in what you order in a restaurant. The melty cheese and butter help too of course. As if I wasn’t full enough after that sammy, I had to grab one of their enormous chocolate chip cookies to go. I couldn’t resist! They had plates and plates of these coming out fresh all over the bar area on plates for self-serve. When the bartender said; “That’s one American dollar please!- and help yourself!” I wanted to kiss him. It was delicious. The chocolate chips were still warm and melty as we gobbled it up.

I highly recommend this spot if you’re up for lunch out when you visit Madison. The prices are more than reasonable and every last thing coming out of the kitchen looked delicious. The kind of lunch stuffing that you need a nap after. Good food, full belly and catching up with old friends sure makes for a spectacular Friday afternoon!

July 31, 2010 In Wisconsin

to market to market

I’m off to the biggest farmer’s market in the country around Madison’s Capital Square. What a green and gorgeous place this is. There are more parks and bike paths in this midwest city than you can imagine. There’s certainly no excuse not to get out and be active here. Being from VT I love it. It feels like a slice of home in the summertime with farms abound, miles and miles of corn fields and kids playing outside with grass stained knees.

Off to scour the market. I’ve got some photos of Wisconsin characters I will upload and share later…

July 30, 2010 In Donations and Sponsorships

yippee, skippy, wahoo!

Imagine my surprise to get this email from my first perfect stranger/Paypal donation since being on the road:

Hi Diane, I noticed you and the BLR-mobile outside the coffee cafe in downtown Cleveland on Monday. Not having known your story, I looked up Blue Lollipop Road when I returned to my desk a little later. I would have liked to introduce myself, but by then you had hit the highway (apparently to Chicago – lucky you!). Some other day, perhaps. In any event, I’m happy to send some gas money to help your adventure farther along – Good Luck! Bill P.

SO AWESOME!

Thank you so much Bill! This means a lot to me and will totally help with the many miles ahead. I hope you will stay in touch and keep following my journey. Your gas donation timing tonight was the perfect boost I needed after I found myself stressing while looking again at maps and distance I still have to go.

Alaska or bust! YEAH!

July 30, 2010 In Random babble, Wisconsin

lets get ready to rumbaaaaaaaallll!!!

Hello Madison Wisconsin!

Even though I was excited about my arrival here and seeing old friends, I ended up sitting at their kitchen table last night looking at maps and mileage to Alaska again feeling like someone just kicked me in the gut and told me there was no such thing as Santa Claus. I still have 2,900 miles and 75 hours driving from here to get to Alaska. Holyfegginsh*t.

Being the last U.S state I will be in before hitting up Canada, The Wisconsin state motto of “Forward” is just what I needed to read this morning after staring blankly at my computer screen last night and the sleepless night that followed. Seeing/knowing and actually doing are oh so different. If I’ve never had this lesson before- oh am I getting one now. I can’t quit. I won’t quit, but I will run out of money either before I get there or as soon as I cross the state line. This is going to make for some crazy good stories. I’ve planned and thought and contacted, but as we all know in life- 90% of “plans” usually get thrown out the window. This last HUGE leg of my trip is likely going to come with me throwing an eff-bomb or 50, some tears, exhaustion, confusion, doubt, loneliness, frustration and all those other words and things that happen when we attempt to reach a goal. (But the wahoo! parts too of course.) I can’t lie, I’m freaking out a little. Ok maybe a lot- but I’ll be damned if my happy ass isn’t standing on the Frontier State line by my 32nd birthday.

Here’s to screw it, just do it and owning all the rewards and consequences along the way. (Am I some kinds of bad-ass? Probably not, but I’m going to try to be anyway.)

“Forward” it is.

July 29, 2010 In Ohio

cool cleveland

The other day I beat feet from Upstate, NY to Chicago. It was a perfect sunny day like a lot have been on my trip so far and I zipped along with no problems at all. I stopped off in Cleveland for a couple hours to wander the city. I have to say I was surprised at how great the vibe was. The city was bustling and downtown is filled with stadiums, parks, restaurants and more. Talk about the place for a sports lover! The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame is right in the city center too. I had to get a quick shot of the peacock guitar (I wonder why:):

I thought this giant FREE stamp was cool at Willard Park nearby too:

I’m not sure what this area was with sidewalk cafe’s and people milling around, but it looked like it’d be the hopping place on a weekend night or after catching a game so I snapped a photo as I drove by. (I’m getting good at that when I can’t find parking!):

I can’t remember who introduced me to Cool Cleveland a while back, or if I have written about this site before- but here it is (maybe again.) I emailed back and forth with the guy that started the site about a year or so ago after someone sent me the link. This is the place to find out what’s happening in this great Ohio city. Apparently the site started by accident like a lot of these community events sites; Someone sends emails to friends about what’s going on around town/puts up blog posts about social events, people start following and boom- all access entertainment site is born. It’s an excellent resource for finding something fun to do if you live or are visiting there.

This time around my visit wasn’t very long, but I can say I think It’d be a blast to go back for a long weekend and take advantage of the variety of places to play in the city of Progress and Prosperity. I’ll be back Cleveland!

July 29, 2010 In News articles/Links

laugh a little, smile a little

I love it when friends and followers send me links to cool stuff I can post about here. My friend Julie sent me a link to The Levity Project this week. Watch this video when you’re having a bad day and see if it doesn’t make you feel better. Not all of life is butterflies and rainbows, but boy does it feel good to choose to be as happy as possible and share a laugh with a stranger.

Thanks Julie!

July 29, 2010 In Random babble

paying the strong mojo forward

A young woman named Crystal called me this morning. Crystal used to work for me 5 years ago. We’ve kept in touch over the years and seen each other a few times. She’s the sweetest, smartest, petite little hard-worker I could’ve ever had as an employee. She came from a very humble country upbringing and has made great things happen for herself. It’s been fun for me to watch her grow up (My, I sound like an old lady.) We hadn’t spoken on the phone in months so I was happily surprised by her voice on the phone; “Di! I just got out of a final job interview and I used you as a reference! It went great!” I asked her some details about the job and we chatted for a few minutes about other life stuff catching up. She then went back to talking about the interview:

“So the lady that interviewed me asked me who my favorite manager from all my jobs was and I told her you! Remember that time after you hired me, you sat me down after a couple weeks to talk? You told me that you thought I was a perfect fit and a hard worker, but that I needed to try to put myself out there more, have more confidence in myself and speak up/not be so shy. At the end of our talk I told you thank you and I will try. Then I tried and became awesome!” (The end line was delivered with Crystals adorable giggle. You’ve gotta love that closing line of “I became awesome!” Too cute…)

I didn’t tell Crystal that I don’t remember that conversation but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she wants to excitedly call me to share news of a new job. She knows that I will always care and be excited for her. The timing of the call from Crystal couldn’t be more perfect after my post about strong mojo and Traci yesterday. It’s a perfect example why if any of us are ever in the position to mentor young people, it’s a huge honor. If we take the gifts we’re given that help us to “become awesome” we then have the responsibility to pay them forward to the next generation. Traci helped me learn confidence, I passed it to Crystal, and now she’s going to be working with high school kids in Philly supporting them to do community service work. Someday 10 years down the road she will get a call from a young woman she cared enough about to pay attention to, and that person will excitedly tell her about a fabulous job they just got because she had the confidence to go for thanks to Crystal.

Full circle. I absolutely love it.

This day helps me to remember even the tiniest things don’t go unnoticed. Thanks Crystal. You just made my week. Keep being your awesome self and I can’t wait for the next phone call.

July 29, 2010 In Uncategorized

Snail mail address

I’ve had a few people ask how I can get snail mail when I’m on the road. I have posted about this before and it’s also in my “About” page above, but here it is again:

7173 Brooking Way
Mechanicsville, VA 23111

I have someone managing my mail during my travels so nothing will be lost. Anything that’s not junk mail will be passed onto me at different drop points on my trip.

Happy snail mailing!

July 28, 2010 In People, Random babble

our favorite coach

First part of this trip was east coast, big city, people I know and of staying in comfy apartments, houses, cottages. With that came “fancy” travel of showers everyday, “no- I am paying for dinner and drinks, this is my donation to your trip!”, time with people I love and good conversation filled with encouragement, advice, and brainstorming on possibilities of where to move after Alaska and how to reach my next goals in life. It’s been much needed, much fun, and exactly what I needed for a push for the next phase of my trip:

Back to my unsalted peanuts, apples and granola instead of steak, pasta and home-cooked meals. Showers will be sporadic, sleeping in the car, or not at all for a day or two is in my near future, along with lots of time with strangers instead of people I know, and only and sights of mountains, valleys and much fewer humans instead of the thousands and skyscrapers I’ve just been around. The no-mans land and less-populated space I’m going into will be the perfect place for me to ring in my 32nd birthday, reflect on the past 16 years of my life, and think of what I want the next 16 to be. This leads me to my story of Traci and why I went to NYC before leaving the east coast:

When I was in NYC, I met and spent time with my old soccer coach Traci who I hadn’t seen since my friends funerals in 1994. There was no real reason we had fallen out of touch, or not seen each other in all those years. Lives move in different directions and time flies. Sometimes when you go through a horrible tragedy with someone, you almost don’t know how to face it/them until years later either. That and it feels impossible to understand why terrible things happen, what it will mean to you, or what kind of impact it will have on your life until long after the instance. (At least this is my experience.) I found Traci last year and was ready to email her out of the blue. When she returned my email signing off 16 years later with; “Much love and strong mojo” I knew in an instant that 8/18/1994 had indeed changed her life forever as it did mine. Before every game so many years ago, our coach Traci, all my teammates and I would scream “STRONG MOJO!” in the circle before games started. It was our thing, our motto, how we all were together as powerful young women. Traci had taught us that strong mojo was team work, ambition, being who and what we wanted, enjoying our time together and appreciating life. It was about being proud, honest, confident and having integrity.

My day in NY with Traci was a flood of emotions. (For the both of us.) I’ve been open and free on talking about my deceased friends in hopes to share their spirit and continue their legacy. This is so important to me. As much as words and stories have and will continue to roll out of me, it’s still difficult to constantly revisit the way my heart snapped in half after getting that phone call at 3:56am and hearing the words “They are gone.” (Now I am officially crying in a busy coffee shop as I type this. Sheesh!) Spending time with Traci catching up on 16 years, meeting her amazing and adorable little family, learning about her life and sharing about mine, was exactly the therapy, time, and strong mojo I needed for this trip. 3 weeks from today as I take the death anniversary day to think about 16 years without our friends, Traci and the rest of the MAU soccer girls will be doing the same wherever they are. Every August 18th will be the same for all of us for the rest of our lives.

So to the stranger Steve Hampton that I don’t know who left comments accusing that I was a fraud and that I’m on some gluttonous partying trip, you have got to be kidding me. You claim to be a follower? Really? Have you read over 600 posts and 2 years of my work here? Did you just read the first part of this blog post? Have you read other hundreds of post inclusive of personal information about me, my family, and my life I have written in an attempt to learn about myself, try to be a better human and potentially inspire others to live their own truths and be proud of themselves with all good and bad parts and issues we all have? Could you consider that even though I am wide open and probably seem careless and free about so much of life, that it’s still difficult for me to constantly air the dirtiest of my laundry? Do you think I’d make up stories about my dead best friends to get cross-country wasted and get strangers to finance a cool fun road trip? I understand that putting my life on the world wide web opens all doors for judgement. That’s to be expected. I felt hurt and pissed off thinking about your comments initially. Those feelings faded fast after thinking of the Traci’s of the world who love and really know me. Because of the people who love me, I take your negative hateful comments not in a negative way but as a lesson. Sometimes people will judge, and not everyone will like me. That’s Ok. I know who I am, I like who I am, and enough people out there know what this trip is about and what Blue Lollipop Road stands for. That’s all I need. I’d encourage you to find your Traci, your Maria and Brandy, something or someone that means everything to you. Share those things with others in a positive way. Find things that make you happy. I promise it will make you feel so much better than being judgemental and jealous of me.

Dear Traci~

Thank you for our time in NY, and time all those years ago. Thank you for teaching me strong mojo. Your gifts have given me love, support and confidence all these years, I’m able to take negativity and criticism like comments from a reader here with a grain of salt. I keep believing in myself because of people like you. Thank you for loving all of us like you did and still do. We love you too. You will always be our favorite coach, our big sister, our mentor and our hero. I feel proud to be in the mix of all the young people you continue to positively influence. I look forward to seeing you soon and never want to wait 16 years again!

Much love and strong mojo always-
Diane 🙂

July 28, 2010 In De-lish, People, Photos, Virginia

today is national milk chocolate day!

How is it possible that I never knew there was one until today? How is it possible that there even is a National Milk Chocolate Day?

This reminds me to thank everyone again who has gifted me Nutella for my trip. I have a Costco-sized jar in my car now from my last stop. I think I need to start talking about how much I love apples and porches, then maybe that’s what people would gift me and I’d eat more fruit and have fast fancy cars to drive…ha!

Nah- I’ll take the Nutella.

I’m dedicating todays morning post to my cutie patootie small fry pal Libbie. She is the daughter of my friend. Before I left VA we had a couple ice cream dates. Apparently she has been asking “When is Diane coming back so we can go get ice cream?” Talk about my kind of buddy! Here is a photo of her at one of my favorite places for a sweet treat called Bev’s. Don’t you just want to squeeze this adorable this face?

If you are a chocolate lover out there, I’d love to post a great photo of yours like this if you’d like to send one to me. If you have a recipe for something chocolate-y you’d like to share, send that, or maybe share a chocolate spot somewhere I can check out in my travels? I’ll take it all and keep posting about the de-lish spots I find too.

Happy chocolate feasting!